Star trails on Velika planina

I had wanted to do a serious star trail shooting for a while now and after carefully examining the weather forecast, Luka and I decided to head to Velika planina last week in hopes of getting some nice pictures. The afternoon light was nice enough and as the sunset approached, the snow turned orange and red! The blue hour in the snow-covered mountains was serene and peaceful, and after a hearty plate of jota it was time to get our tripods and remote releases ready! First we shot around the chapel with the Kamnik Alps as the backdrop, and later, when the moon had set, I wandered around Domžalski dom (Domžale hut) and took some more shots. We were lucky: the sky was clear, and the wind spared us as there was only a slight breeze, and even the breeze died down later. Satisfied with the results we slept for a few hours before getting up for the sunrise shots. But more about that in the next post. For now, afternoon and night piccies:






















More photos here.

Decorated Ljubljana

I had missed the Christmas decoration in Ljubljana for many years. I was determined to have a photo session in our capital this season, and hoping the lights were still there I chose one of the few clear days during the holidays, the first Sunday in January. Sure enough the decoration was still in place. I was early so I strolled around a little before the sun went down. Then the usual followed: trying to capture as many locations during those beautiful 20 minutes of blue hour. Afterwards, when the sky was already black, I wandered around anyway and took some more pictures. There weren't as many people in the streets as I had anticipated; I guess the holiday spirit had already passed.















More photos here.

Berlin - Day 2

The second day of our stay in Berlin was quite busy. In the morning we explored the area around the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was badly damaged by bombing in 1943. The blue interior of the new part of the church reminded me of a church in Brasilia, Don Bosco.




It was still very cold, but at least it didn't snow. For a while I just walked around and took pictures.


In the afternoon it was time to see Alexanderplatz and the nearby sites. One of the most prominent things to see is definitely the 216-meter high television tower.

Berlin Cathedral.

I was lucky to see a (probably freezing) bride at the entrance to the cathedral.

The interior is, well... ornate. :)


But what I was really waiting for was, yes, you guessed it, blue hour. It's such a shame that it only lasts for about 20 minutes because its light is the best and it's simply impossible to be at different locations during those 20 minutes. I had to run around like crazy again. :)





Soon the sky was black and I started playing with the traffic.



I walked the whole length of an avenue called Unter der Linden with beautifully lit linden trees...


... all the way to Brandenburg Gate...

... past the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe...

... to Potsdam Square.

The lively central forum of Sony Center:



Cold but satisfied with the day I headed back by metro.

More photos here.